It’s quite remarkable what $5,000 can accomplish. For Los Angeles lawyer Eve Tiley-Coulson, when she offered that exact amount on TikTok in 2023, it blew up her entire life. She now explains, “It marked the shift from being a ‘victim’ who was unable to find love to taking control of the narrative.”
Like many, Eve was looking for love. The apps weren’t working — whether she swiped left, right, up, or down, the result was always disappointment. Her friends weren’t setting her up either. And presumably, whenever she opened up social media, it was people arguing through Andrew Tate talking points, so Eve couldn’t exactly count on the ever-so-reliable direct messages.
She did have another use for social media, however. TikTok specifically. The only corner of the internet where you can go and air out your issues like a bad trip to the hair salon without worrying about an AI chatbot in your comment section producing debauchery. Eve had one task for her followers and whoever else the TikTok algo sent her way: $5,000 for anyone who would introduce her to the man she would eventually marry.
Let’s not forget — according to CNBC, only about 20% of Americans have more than $5,000 in their savings account. That’s not money to scoff at. Soon, Eve’s TikTok was full of messages; even her email inbox was full. Women, in particular, didn’t even have anyone to recommend — they just wanted to let Eve know that they were also feeling the same fatigue. After the events, People finally sat down with Eve for an interview, and she said, “It felt incredibly supportive to see that I wasn’t alone. Many women and men were and are in the trenches of dating.”
Few things have changed, and as such — the original TikTok has never really stopped trending. In fact, it still has comments made as recently as yesterday, even though it came out three years ago. Eve wants everyone to know that she found the man she intends on marrying, though. “He was not referred by anyone,” Eve shared. “But I think posting the TikTok and taking the narrative back put me in a confident position to date and find success.”
Eve was single for five entire years, and she has now been in a relationship for three years. So before her actual nuptials, she has decided to marry her two experiences together, and she gives periodic relationship advice to her huge audience. Eve explained, “Dating is hard. I have learned to cope through humor, but I think it’s also important to be self-aware and real about your experiences.”
She shares with her audience not just the great times in her new relationship but the cringe too — the problems she had during the earlier dating stage and why it didn’t work out. Eve wants her audience to feel like they’re not alone. We’re all humans, and most of us are just lovely people who are often misunderstood — that’s what Eve is trying to show with her funny TikToks. That being said, she also shared that her boyfriend has no intention of sharing his take on the $5,000 bounty that was once set up to find him.
Published: Feb 26, 2026 08:25 am